The first 6 weeks - how did you cope?

[firstimer30s]

Would love to hear any tips/ advice on getting through the first six weeks. Am 30 wks and a first-timer but am told by many mums that this is an extremely hard phase. Any tips at all appreciated!

All cracking advice which I second! I'm on 14+6 here, and loving it.

One thing I'd add to the great stuff in this thread is learn to not resent your OH if he is asleep and you are not at the start: someone has to look after you so you can look after the baby. If that person is not functioning, everything goes to cock!

Good luck, it's an amazing thing to do, blooming hard work but the most rewarding thing ever.

Go easy on yourself.

The first six weeks is by far the easiest ....
It's after six weeks - when the colic sets in until about weaning time.
After weaning they become mobile , and after they become mobile they don't stop talking / demanding ....
Enjoy your first six weeks ! Cuddle and bond - all the hard work comes later.

Oh and try not to worry too much if your relationship becomes a little ahem fraught during the first few months.It is not a sign you have made a hideous mistake. It is normal. A friend gave me 'Babyproofing your Marriage' which was brilliant - and v v funny.

Just thought of something else - if you live in a house or maisonette with stairs, consider having a bag draped over the top post and another at the bottom. That way if you have to carry anything up or down you can put it in the bag, hold baby and bannister

(You may be v tired and a but shaky esp the first few days after birth - a friend of mine fell headlong downstairs with 4 day old bubba!)

Also sets of changing mats, nappies upstairs and down make life lots easier. Good luck!

Do NOT listen to people who say their baby slept through at 2 weeks old. Babies are designed to wake frequently as newborns, they have tiny little tummies that need to be topped up often and frequent night waking is normal, hard but normal.

Think of the first 12 weeks as the fourth trimester, you have the relative luxury of this being your first baby and no older children to entertain, so you can hold your baby lots (pay no heed to 'you're spoiling them' - you can't spoil a newborn baby!), nap when they nap (cliche but it does help) and stay in your PJs for a couple of weeks if you need to. Let people help whenever they offer but don't be afraid to ask them to leave when you need to rest - sitting there making small talk with neighbours while your baby is sleeping in front of you and you just want to crawl in to bed is immensely frustrating! Getting your partner to take care of the visitor side of things can be helpful.

Don't fall for this competitive being out in Tesco as soon as the cord is cut etc, everyone ends up in the same place eventually, and once you take the pressure of getting 'back to normal' off yourself it makes life considerably easier.

And yy to the cosleeping cot, must be so much easier than umpteen attempts at transferring to Moses basket. I ended up cosleeping most nights but always felt a bit worried about it. If I had my time again that is something I would definitely get.

Not to expect so much from myself, and remember I'm not superwoman, each day is a new beginning, getting out the house works wonders if already have children too. And for you're own sanity. Breastfeeding, baby wearing, Co-sleeping. And not to listen how people wish to judge the way you raise your child

Something I wish I'd known earlier is that vests can be pulled down over their shoulders rather than up over their heads if they've done an explosive poo. very specific advice, but my god I wish I'd known!

For me the first 2/3 weeks were hard. In terms of sleep this improved by week 3 and he was sleeping in. 5 hours bursts at night and 2/3 hours in day. Issue I had was he was unputdownable in day